Red Dragon pricing (1 Viewer)

[James Miller]

for all big brick and mortars and the big/reputable/us based online retailers, the 1 disc sells for ~$15 and the 2 disc for ~$26-$28... a (near) 100% premium for a supplemental disc is absurd and unacceptable.

that being said, the only version of the film that I will buy on DVD is the 2 disc, so it seems as if I will be passing on the title altogether. (we're not talking about Citizen Kane after all)

i will be very interested to see the sales figures, but I imagine that the majority of "enthusiasts" will be put off by the price differential, and I would be stupefied if ANY J6P's were willing to double their expenditure for a disc of extras. (particularly considering that the only way to "get rid of those black bars" is to buy the P&S single disc)

btw, Sam Goody / Mediaplay have the 2 disc posted for under $20. it is clearly a pricing mistake seeing as they list the MSRP at $23. having to deal with what would likely become a "sorry, we listed the price wrong, we won't sell it for that" customer service fiasco (as any company owned by Best Buy is sure to subject a customer to) is not worth my aggravation, but you all are welcome to try.....

meantime I believe my $15 will go for "The Ghost and Mrs. Muir"... thanks, universal!

 

[CraigF]

The pricing on this disc seems very weird in Canada at some places too. In B&M stores the Director's is only about $2 more (it's $18 at Best Buy)...pretty reasonable for these days. To see what I mean by some price weirdness, check out the prices at amazon.ca, which is not typical of online places in Canada.

 

[Tony Whalen]

Yup... it's a three-dollar difference at Future Shop. If that's the case... 2-disc set for me.

 

[Michael Hall]

None of the B&Ms that I went to yesterday even had the 2 disc version. Hence, I didn't buy anything. Both Wal*Marts I went to had a huge display of both the single disc versions, but not a 2-disc set to be seen.

 

[ChrisMatson]

This price scheme is upsetting. The MSRP of $34.98 is ridiculous. Perhaps the "Director's Edition" implies that the Director gets a higher cut of the sales? I would love to add this to my collection, but I am planning on waiting this one out for a lower price.

 

[DennisP]

After reading the review of the two disc set..I opted to purchase the single disc version for $14.99 at Circuit City. It seemed to me the better supplements were included on the fist disc in both cases. The only reason I would have purchased the 2 disc set was for the "making of" featurette........but not for twice $7+ more. The marketing stragety on this disc escapes me. I'm not a J6P...just a smart shopper.

 

[JustinCleveland]

In 1999, or 2000, this marketing strategy would have worked just fine. But when you're in an economic recession, to price yourself out of the common market is just insane!

 

[Jodee]

I am a self-admitted DVD-holic and I always buy the biggest and best version of any movie I feel is worthy of owning on DVD.

That said, the pricing on this title was enough to make me say "No Thanks!) to the 2-disc set. $14.99 for the movie & extras or $27.99 for the movie and more extras? I'm sorry, a disc of extras is not worth $13 to me. Maybe if Disc 2 had another cut of the movie or something, but just extras?

I hope this pricing scheme bites Universal in the ass. The MSRP for the 2-disc should have been no more than $29.99 and the 1-disc $19.99. Or they should have worked with the retailers to discount the 2-disc set more heavily.

This was a blind buy for me, and as such I went with the 1-disc only. I can justify spending $20 or less on a movie I've never seen, but anything over that is questionable, especially in the current economy.

 

[Kevin Davis]

As James said, I too was excited to get this, and would only buy the Director's Edition, but have decided to pass all together due to the price. As I'm an avid collector of Harris' books, and have all of the previous DVD releases, I had really wanted to get this. The price has led me to reconsider all of the films - though I love the books, how often will I actually rewatch any of the films? If I'm not buying Red Dragon, why keep the rest of the series? (I've been thinning my collection recently anyway) So, this strange pricing experiment of Universal's has left me not buying the new disc and seriously considering selling my old discs as used (I mean, if it's not a complete collection, what's the point?)
I'm sure my wife appreciates Universal's help in making me a little more fiscally responsible!

 

[Richard Waller]

I'll be passing on the 2-disc set as well and just get the single disc release. It's not like I'd watch the making-of more than once.

 

[Christian Preischl]

What ticks me off a bit is that had there only been the 2 disc set, the SRP would most likely have $29.99 at the most. Just because there's an additional single disc edition, the 2 discer goes for 34.99 all of a sudden.
Disney did the same with their dual releases. When there was a single disc release besides the 2 disc Collector's Set, the 2 discer was 39.99, the single disc 29.99. If there was no single disc (see the Platinum Releases or Monster's Inc.), the 2 discer was 29.99.

Chris

 

[Joshua_Y]

I paid $30 for CC's only copy yesterday...worth every penny if ya ask me...

 

[Kelley_B]

i got the single disc set. the special features on the 2-disc just didn't add up enough to almost double the price.

 

[Malcolm R]

I hope this pricing scheme bites Universal in the ass.

More likely they'll just use the poor sales results to say, "see, customers are not willing to pay more for additional extras," thereby justifying single-disc only and bare bones releases.

 

[Dave H]

Why not just wait for the 2-disc to become a Columbia House enrollment and get it for around $8-9.00? I agree this is WAY overpriced right now.

 

[WillG]

I have to agree, this is a pretty stupid model. Why does Universal always have to go all screwy with their releases and release about 18 different versions of 1 Movie. Widescreen/Fullscreen , Widescreen Uncensored/Fullscreen Uncensored, Widescreen Uncensored DTS/Fullscreen Uncensored DTS etc. Why can't Universal, for this title, be like EVERY OTHER STUDIO and just release the 2 disc edition. They know many of us like all the supplements and are trying to gouge us for them. Hell, I got the 2 Disc AOTC (the only way it was released, just trying to point out that it is 2 discs) for $10.00 when it came out at Toys R' Us! At Circuit City, all I would have paid would have been about $15.00. Universal has screwed up many times in the last year (Although I will admit, that they have put out many quality discs as well)

 

[Eugene Esterly]

Why not wait until a used copy, in your price range, of Red Dragon Director's Edition becomes avaliable on Amazon.com Marketplace, EBAY, etc.

 

[Steve Schaffer]

There is a "making of" on the single disc version, similar to those HBO fluff pieces on so many other discs.

Disc 2 consists mainly of a "video diary" called "A Director's Journey".

A videographer followed the director around from 2 months before shooting began until the end of shooting, covering location scouting, set construction, costuming, lots of on-set footage, etc. This was not the typical "making of" piece by any means.

There are pieces on visual effects, screen tests of various lighting techniques and picking the right colors for Dolarhyde's tattoos, with explanations of how the filmstock selection effected production design down to how bright the explosions should be and how fire and blood would "read" on the screen.

Another sequence shows the preparation for and hazards of the wheelchair scene.

The various special makeup methods are also covered and there's a featurette on how real forensics people and detectives were used to make the crimescenes more realistic.

Also included are storyboards to final feature comparisons and trailers.

One of Brett Ratner's student films is also on the disc, showing an early bent towards the macabre.



Whether this is worth an extra $10 (27.95 vs 17.95 at BB in CA) is up to the individual buyer. For fans of special features that go beyond the usual "Making of" I think it is worth it.

It would have been better if this stuff were all on a single 2 disc release, as was the case for Hannibal, AOTC, etc, but since this is the way Universal decided to release it, and having seen what's on the 2nd disc, I had to express my feeling that the extra cost was worthwhile to me as a fan of in-depth extras.

 

[Dan Rudolph]

I'd be buying the 2-disc if it were available for $20 or less. As is I'll pass as I'm largely intereested in what John Douglas has to say.

 

[Roy Van Nostrand]

How many multiple copies of movies do you own?

The marketing strategy is: Buy the cheapest first disc and later buy the special edition (and in the case of WB, buy the superblown edition or w/Columbia/Tristar buy the Super Bit, or w/Disney and Paramount buy the non-anamorphic, then buy the anamorphically enhanced and then the SE, or in the case of Fox, buy one or the other and even wait until you die before it's even released), sorry if I left any studios out.

Bring back the days of $5 DVDs, Reel.com multiple coupons and Brands For Less rebates and free shipping ...I'm really going broke now. Thank God they aren't taxing the internet ...yet!

Incidentally, I "cheaped" out and bought the $14.99 version.